REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
March 1, 2018
FROM: THOMAS C. ESQUEDA, Director
Department of Public Utilities
THROUGH: MICHAEL CARBAJAL, Planning Manager
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning and Engineering
BY: GLENN A. KNAPP, Professional Engineer
Department of Public Utilities - Utilities Planning and Engineering
SUBJECT
Title
Approve a Consultant Services Agreement in the amount of $595,894 with Parsons Water and Infrastructure, Inc., to provide Phase I schematic design services for the City of Fresno’s Airport Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Council District 4)
Body
RECOMMENDATIONS
Approve a Consultant Services Agreement in the amount of $595,894 with Parsons Water and Infrastructure, Inc., to provide Phase I schematic design services for the City of Fresno’s Airport Wastewater Reclamation Facility (Facility); and authorize the Director of Public Utilities, or designee, to sign the Agreement on behalf of the City of Fresno.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Parsons Water and Infrastructure, Inc. (Parsons), entered into a consultant services agreement on July 2, 2015, to provide feasibility studies related to investigating the need, benefits and location of a future wastewater reclamation facility in the vicinity of the Fresno Yosemite International Airport. The proposed Facility would provide treatment load relief for existing and future wastewater system demands by including design process provisions to meet Title 22 water quality regulatory requirements for discharge and reuse of recycled water in landscape areas and groundwater recharge facilities. The Facility would aid the City in meeting its water resource management and Sustainable Groundwater Management Act goals. The studies revealed a preferred Facility site location south of Shields Avenue between Airways Golf Course and Clovis Avenue that would relieve treatment load and system capacity issues while providing opportunity for reuse of recycled water. The property has been secured through a 40 year Interdepartmental Memorandum of Understanding between the Airports Department and the Department of Public Utilities (DPU). Phase I schematic design services are now necessary to define and address project environmental/regulatory requirements, schematic design parameters, and alternative funding opportunities to minimize rate-payer impacts.
BACKGROUND
In 2009, the State of California adopted a recycled water policy establishing a mandate to increase the use of recycled water in California by 200,000 acre-feet per year by 2020 and an additional 300,000 acre-feet per year by 2030. The City of Fresno’s Recycled Water Master Plan (RWMP), which was adopted in 2013, identifies opportunities to assist with compliance of this law by reducing groundwater pumping and replacing groundwater with recycled water for non-potable purposes (i.e. outdoor irrigation, dust control, fountains, etc.).
Furthermore, in June 2016 to comply with the Urban Water Management Planning Act, the City of Fresno published an updated Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). The plan was developed and used to assist in resource planning to ensure adequate water supplies for future use including during time of drought. The UWMP relies upon the future expansion of non-potable supply from recycled water to be used for irrigation, ground water recharge, and other non-potable uses.
In conjunction with the RWMP and UWMP, the City’s Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) identifies future sewer system capacity upgrades in the vicinity of the Fresno Yosemite International Airport to eliminate capacity deficiencies. The future sewer system capacity deficiencies could be eliminated by the construction of a scalping plant in the vicinity of the Airport. By relieving the capacity constraint in the contributory areas, future development may not require the installation of additional larger sewer pipelines.
In May 2016, Parson’s completed the Facility feasibility study for the treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater to relieve pressure in the sewer system and provide a source of recycled water within a 5-mile radius. This study considered three project locations combined with two different levels of end uses and the required treatment processes for each use. The alternative selected is an 8 million gallon per day (MGD) facility to be located on a City-owned parcel just east of the Airways Golf Course. The site is adjacent to potential users such as Airways Golf Course, the former Palm Lakes Golf Course property, and Leaky Acres Recharge Facility. Potential influent could be obtained by scalping 5.3 MGD of domestic wastewater from near capacity trunk lines and blending with 2.7 MGD of highly concentrated industrial wastewater from the Gallo Winery.
The recommended treatment process includes preliminary treatment consisting of mechanical screening, conventional primary treatment, secondary treatment with membrane bio-reactors (MBR), reverse osmosis (RO), and ultra-violet (UV) disinfection. This treatment process could potentially produce water of the highest quality, usable for Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR) at Leaky Acres (pending approval from the State of California Division of Drinking Water (DDW). The Title 22 compliant treated effluent would then be conveyed to the various locations for approved recycled water uses.
To solidify the conclusions of the feasibility study, it is necessary to commence with a portion of the schematic design phase (Phase 1) for the Facility to produce a project design report (about 10% design) and initiate California Environmental Quality Act documentation. This effort will set the project concept, design parameter and costs to gain approval from the California State Water Resources Control Board, secure low-interest loan financing, and project grants.
In accordance with Fresno Municipal Code Section 4-109 and Administrative Order 6-19, in June 2016, DPU advertised a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for planning, design, permitting, and engineering support for multiple satellite wastewater treatment facilities including the Facility. Six Statements of Qualifications were received and interviews of the four most qualified firms were conducted by a panel of six. Parsons Water and Infrastructure, Inc., was selected as most qualified and best value to provide design services for the Facility.
To commence Phase 1 schematic design services for the Facility, staff has negotiated a consultant services fee in the amount of $565,894 with a contingency of $30,000 for professional engineering services and recommends that the City Council award a contract to Parsons Water and Infrastructure, Inc. The City Attorney has approved this contract as to form. Upon approval by the City Council, the agreement will be executed by the Director of Public Utilities. Upon completion and evaluation of the work under this Agreement, staff may return to Council for potential expansion of consultant services supporting design of the Facility
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378 the award of this contract for a feasibility study does not qualify as a “project” for the purpose of CEQA. Any future project will require a CEQA review which will be brought before Council for approval.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
In compliance with Fresno Municipal Code Section 4-109, local preference was not implemented because there were less than three local firms providing the highly specific consulting services requested.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project has no financial impact on the General Fund. This project is identified in the Wastewater Management Division’s Fiscal Year 2018 Capital Improvement Program Enterprise Fund. No additional appropriations are necessary.
Attachment:
Consultant Services Agreement